Night of Culture is a one-night event that takes place every June in Lublin, Poland. It is a festival of light installations and shows in the public space. On this night, we look at the city through the eyes of artists and residents who enter into a dialogue with Lublin’s public spaces and change them by creating installations and art objects in places that we usually do not expect to have such potential. Art enlivens unknown or forgotten areas, allowing us to see Lublin in a new light.

Residents and visitors alike are involved in the making of the event – everyone is welcome to submit their proposals in open calls for projects or by taking part in contests. Video mapping has been a part of the programme for the past several editions. Last June we held the first contest for a project of this kind. All submitted projects were screened on the walls of historic buildings in the very centre of the city, and the winner took home 5000 pln. We are holding the contest again this year. Whether it’s the first time you are hearing about it or regret not submitting last year – now’s your chance!

The building intended for the mapping is the Palace of the Czartoryski Family in Lublin, a Baroque building designed in the second half of the 17th century by the Dutch-born architect Tylman van Gameren. It’s a medium-sized edifice, with cloisters embedded in the façade and a beautiful portico above the entrance. Perhaps on June 6 2020, on the most magical night in Lublin, we will see mysterious shadows, moving architectural elements, dynamic colour changes, or light flickering rhythmically in blind windows – it all depends on you.
Joanna Wawiórka-Kamieniecka, Night of Culture’s director encourages everyone to take part: ‘We’re inviting enthusiasts of digital media art to submit their projects. All selected works will be shown on Night of Culture 2020, while the author of the best work will receive 5000 pln. We want the mapping to connect with this year’s theme, which is CityTender. On 6 June 2020, we want to look at Lublin’s architecture tenderly and enjoy the meeting in the solicitous city”

The jury will evaluate the projects in terms of how well they fit with the architecture, as well as take into consideration the aesthetic and dramatic consistency of the work. The winner of the contest in 2019 was Daria Lytvynenko. Daria enjoys drawing and animating. She likes playfulness and experimentation. Through play, she rids objects of their general properties. Through experimentation, she shows that imagination has no limits. Lytvynenko is self-taught, she does not have formal artistic education. She thus describes her contest experience: “Honestly, the contest had terrified me but in the end, I decided to treat the building as a canvas where everything is possible”. You can see her works here: facebook.com/oksdaria and here vimeo.com/dariaoks

Projection place/building subject to the contest: the Palace of the Czartoryski Family in Lublin

Who can submit: The contest is for persons of legal age, both individual artists and groups are welcome.

Prize: 5000 PLN net

The animation submitted to the contest should be adapted to the building’s grid, to be provided by the Organiser. The accepted resolution is 1200×1920 pixels in full HD, file format: MOV 25 f/s, codec: H264 or dxv. The animation should be between min. 2 and max 10 minutes long but the Organisers reserve the right to ask the author to shorten the work in case of a large number of submissions.

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The 14th Night of Culture in Lublin takes place on the night of 6/7 June 2020. Admission to all events is free. The full programme will be available in May at www.en.nockultury.pl. In the meantime, to get a feel of the event, you can view photos from past editions, available here: https://nockultury.pl/galeria/ and on the event’s FB page: facebook.com/NocKultury/. Night of Culture is organised by Workshops of Culture in Lublin. The project is supported by the City of Lublin.